Best price for value? The big problem with the stock Silvia is its cheap bimetallic thermostats. In the late 80's you were able to get SDBUs with 300 ml boilers and capillary thermostats for maybe $100 more than the Silvia in the US and a similar price to the Silvia in Europe. In the early 90s, you were able get a SBDU with an electronic temperature controller. Not sure of the price when new but I would guess $240 more than the Silvia. ($50 for the temperature controller + $10 for a better boiler) X 4 (for profit). Given the improved performance from replacing the bimetallic thermostats, I would say "best price for value" didn't belong to the Silvia.

I guess your answer is the reason I prefaced my comment by WARNING, PERSONAL OPINION FOLLOWSThere is no right or wrong with personal opinions yet it seems that I am being sought to change my PERSONAL OPINION. YMMV!

In real life, my name isWayne P.Anything I post is personal opinion and is only worth as much as anyone else's personal opinion. YMMV!

I really do like my CC1, excellent shots, and love the fast recovery after pulling a shot vs other sbdu machines and especially the fairly quick switching from steam to shot thanks to the thermoblock (no long waits, no boiler cool down like others etc). Think the Silvano is the only one that beats it there as a sb as it has a separate pump for steaming. PID makes all the difference, big difference in taste vs trying to play all the time with temp surfing, and more consistent. Personally I would go with a Gaggia Classic w/ PID over the Silvia.

I like Oscar also, he has grown on me. I like what I am getting in the cup and the powerful steam. I like the no burn shell and they did come in silver and off white as well as red. I wanted the best espresso machine I could get on the cheap and Oscar was it for me. I am not sorry I didn't get a shiny one as my first machine. I think I would be more intimidated and scared to touch it much less toss it in the trunk for family vacations like I do Oscar. (being used makes it less stress if he gets a scratch on him) His price reflects people liking the Stainless for the kitchen and I for one am glad I could get a low volume commercial machine for under $500. I could not have gotten another low volume commercial machine for the same money. And I will keep him around in that function if I ever do get a shiny one. He is pretty damn handy for catering events.

A true benchmark machine, this machine made Rancilio a lot of money since it was introduced in 1998 - it has become the standard against which all other consumer, single boiler machines are measured against. Currently in its 3rd revision.

Wow, that means that Rancilio has been making it for 14 years. They've been revising it once every 4.6... years, which is a bit more than what other appliance manufacturers do.

I guess in some ways, the Silvia is kind of like the Model T of the espresso world. The Model T was made between 1908 to 1927, nearly 20 years. The only problem was, the model T got cheaper. I can't think of any other car on the market that was built for that long, but there must have been a reason why.

I still love the looks of the Silvia, but you are right in that it is really due for a massive revision when there are machines like the CC1 and the Lelit PID controlled machines on the market.

Garbage In, Garbage Out, for every step of the process. From Beans to grinder, grounds to machine, coffee to cup.

"Revision" is the proper term. Very little has been done to improve the espresso production. The brew thermostat's temperature was lowered which could actually be seen as decreasing the quality. An adjustable pressure relief valve was added, but no gauge to make use of it. Other than some cosmetics, it's pretty much the same as it was when I bought mine in 2000.

The fact that it is priced as high as it is has a lot of experienced users recommending the Gaggia's to folks for their first machine, and then jumping past the Silvia to an HX machine or one of the newer hybrid dual-boilers.

I guess in some ways, the Silvia is kind of like the Model T of the espresso world. The Model T was made between 1908 to 1927, nearly 20 years... I can't think of any other car on the market that was built for that long.

The VW bug was in production for over 24 years when I bought one in 1969 and went well past that.

And i believe that same VW bug is still made today in Mexico. Only difference between the bug and the silvia is price. The bug is an inexpensive car, but was a true work horse. The silvia is in the same work horse category but is very high priced. Imagine paying the price of a new honda civic but your getting an old bug.Rancilio has been riding this gravy train for 12 years. I can see them sitting at the board table. Don't change anything, dont add a $20 PID, make it cheaper. Lets ride this wave until coffeegeeks pulls this old news off the site.

Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post

Forum Rules:No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards.No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum.No SEO style postings will be tolerated. SEO related posts will result in immediate ban from CoffeeGeek.No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum.Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards.Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics.Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies.Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies.Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts.Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.